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It can’t do any harm… the aspirin problem

Following on from this, I have recently read an interview with Professor Arri Coomarasamy , Consultant Gynaecologist and Sub-specialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. You need to scroll down to read it here: http://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/information/research/talking-about-research/ I will try to find, read and share the aspirin research that is referred to. It’s not the first time that I have heard that there has been a study which seemed to show that aspirin used in pregnancy WHERE THERE IS NO KNOWN BLOOD CLOTTING ISSUE may actually CAUSE miscarriages. This is really scary for the hundreds of women under the care local RMC clinics where they still prescribe it ‘just in case’. The advice in the College guideline (the official list of what treatments/medicines work for what condition) still doesn’t seem to have been updated to reflect new findings. As a matter of fact, my GP was sent a letter from a local RMC consultant this August (2014) saying that they were not aware of any changes.

There is a belief in the Recurrent Miscarriage community (medical practitioners and sufferers) that baby aspirin (75-81mg) can help prevent future miscarriages. The idea is that it thins the blood slightly, meaning that it flows more easily to the uterus, the placenta and the developing baby. This can be effective if the patient has a known blood thickening/clotting issue, for example:

the antiphospholipid (aPL) antibody and lupus anticoagulant – this test should be done twice, six weeks apart, when you are not pregnant

St Mary’s, London, also perform the TEG test (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thromboelastography), in which your blood is rushed to be tested straight away, while it’s still fresh to check for clotting disorders. I am due to have this test if and…